Watches worn by top Politicians and Billionaires

October 12, 2016

Have you ever wondered how your taste in horological finesse compares to the leaders of the world? Ever pondered how much the super-rich spend on their timepieces? Well thanks to watchuseeks forum ‘tracking celebrities and what watches they are wearing’ you can find out. Below is some of the most interesting pieces of horological data from the past several years worth of posts.

The table below shows the watches that various key politicians from around the world have been seen wearing. It is interesting to note that the most expensive watches belong to the leaders of some of the world's poorest countries. It is also interesting to see that Socialist politicians such as the French President Hollande and the Greek Prime Minister Tsipras stick to their principles by wearing fairly affordable timepieces.

Note: there is no record of Donald Trump wearing one of his signature watches. I thought it would be interesting to add it to the list.

President Mbasogo of the Republic of the Equatorial Guinea wears a $65000 Rolex Oyster Date. The GDP per capita of Equatorial Guinea is $1214. That means it would take a whopping 19543 days (over 53 years!) for an average worker in Equatorial Guinea to earn enough to buy their President's watch. How long would it take for workers earning the average wage in other countries take to buy their leaders watch?

Obviously it is a big year in US politics; but what watches are top US politicians wearing? I very much doubt that Donald Trump wears one of his own watches, but he is the only US politician on the list (or at all?) who has/had his own watch brand.

This bar chart compares the prices of various politicians involved in the US Presidential elections this November. Unsurprisingly, Sanders frugal but practical Citizen is the cheapest.

The movers and shakers of the world aren't always political leaders. According to Forbes there are 1810 dollar billionaires in the world in 2016. Some are on the politicians list above; Ondimba of Gabon is estimated to be worth $1bn and it has been suggested that Putin is worth close to $50bn. For billionaires who are not in charge of their countries; is their wealth reflected in their choice of watch?

As you can see there isn't necessary a connection between their wealth and the price of their watch. Super rich tech entrepreneurs seem to prefer cheaper, practical models, with Mark Zuckerburg not wearing any watch at all.